TRANSACTIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM SYSTEM AND METHOD
A transactional social media platform. The transactional social media platform includes a social graph representative of relationships within the transactional social media platform. The represented relationships include consumer users and vendor users on nodes of the transactional social media platform that might also incorporate existing social media platforms. Consumer users may access video content from vendor users at a cost based on a number of factors. Upon providing consumer user access to video content, the system automatically charges or deducts the determined base cost from a corresponding consumer user account on the transactional social media platform.
The present invention claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/878,971, filed Sep. 19, 2013, Attorney Docket No: 13-0492.01 entitled “Transactional Social Media Platform.”
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONSThe present invention is related to (1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. Jun. 5, 2014, entitled TRANSACTIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM SYSTEM AND METHOD WITH REVENUE SHARE, Attorney Docket. No. PVINE.002US; and (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, filed Jun. 5, 2014, entitled TRANSACTIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM SYSTEM AND METHOD WITH USER INVITE, Attorney Docket No PVINE.003US both of which are concurrently filed herewith and fully incorporated by reference as if fully set forth in the present specification.
COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIXA computer program listing appendix is provided including the following ASCII files: channellist.txt, 4.66k; _upload.text, 3.81k; main.txt 2.35k; socialnetwork.txt 2.46k; uploadcontroller.txt 1.77k; uploadinvitecontroller.txt 2.15k; vine.txt 3.51k; vinestabcontroller.txt 1.94; balanceaccount.txt 2.84k; balancetransaction.txt 5.99; balancetransactiondestination.txt 2.4k, all of the files created Jun. 4, 2014. The information is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in full in this application for all purposes. A portion of the disclosure recited in this application contains material which is subject to copyright protection. Specifically, the computer program listing appendix and possibly other portions of the application may recite or contain source code, data or other functional text. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction of the functional text; otherwise all copyright rights are reserved.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to computer and communication systems and methods and more specifically to computer and communication systems and methods that process online social network data for an online transaction social media platform.
Online “direct to consumer” delivery of video content continues to proliferate, providing growth opportunities for monetizing video content such as movies, music videos, amateur home-based videos and the like. A video content provider wishing to monetize video content can use any number of conventional online delivery platforms. As an example, a video content provider can employ a non-subscriber advertising-based platform such as YouTube™ and the like.
The content provider would begin by creating and uploading the video content to the online platform for viewing by consumers. As consumers view the video content, the online platform would deliver advertisements to engage viewers and generate revenue because the online platform is based on an advertising model.
The more consumers view the video content, the more advertising is presented to them and the more revenue inures to the content provider. In other words, if the video content goes viral, the content provider can expect to generate some revenue. If the video content is unpopular or does not attract substantial viewing, the content provider generates little or no revenue.
Another type of online platform that can be used by a content provider wishing to monetize video content is a subscriber-based platform such as Netflix™ or the like. Here, the content provider simply provides the content to the third party online platform (such as Netflix™), and as subscribers request the video content, corresponding revenue based on the requested video content is generated. The revenue generated depends upon the number of subscribers and the number of times those subscribers view the video content.
Further yet, another online platform that can be utilized by content providers is a social networking platform (Facebook,™ Twitter,™ etc). Here, the content provider might simply wish to distribute such content for informational, educational or entertainment purposes.
It is within the aforementioned context that a need for the present invention has arisen. Thus, there is a need to address one or more of the perceived or implied disadvantages of conventional systems and methods, and the present invention meets this need.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONVarious aspects of a transactional social media platform system and method can be found in exemplary embodiments of the present invention.
In a first embodiment, the transactional social media platform includes one or more computing devices establishing a social graph that represents relationships between users, participants or “viners” of an online social network, as well as degrees of separation between such user viners. In one embodiment, the transactional social media platform may communicably incorporate existing social media networks such as Twitter™ or Facebook™ etc. so that the transactional social media platform augments its communication access to reach contacts beyond the transaction social media platform.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the transactional social media platform infrastructure is structured around distribution of and access to video content such as music videos, movies, etc. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, unlike existing social media platforms that have general-type users unrelated to video content, the transactional social media platform of the present invention creates and sets apart two categories of user viners around video content.
The first category is consumer viners that consume but cannot upload video content. Each consumer account is configured to deny or block all requests by consumer viners to upload video content.
The second user category built around video content is vendor viners. Vendor viners are accounts that upload video content for distribution to consumer viner accounts. The transactional social video platform thus operates with two user categories within a social media context: consumer viners seeking video content and vendor viners offering video content for rent or purchase. The platform then facilitates commercial transactions between its two user categories.
In one embodiment, to facilitate such transactions, the platform employs an algorithm that utilizes a number of factors to automatically determine a base price for uploaded video content. Among other factors, the algorithm may use |S|, the quantity of all SD (Standard Definition) encoded videos; ch, the cost of HD (High Definition) encoding per min ($); SPE, a spread constant, etc. Once the price of the video content is determined, consumer viners may access and view such video content after which the corresponding consumer viner accounts are charged.
In this manner, the transactional social media platform of the present invention facilitate online “direct to consumer” providing dynamic growth opportunities for monetizing video content. Video content providers wishing to monetize their video content online need not rely on conventional subscriber or advertising-based platforms; or on existing social media networks for that matter. Content providers can utilize the transactional social media platform of the present invention to create their own consumer base from which direct revenues may be generated.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention herein may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the attached drawings. Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention, are described in detail below with respect to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.
Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with one or more embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to the discussed embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover several alternatives, modifications and equivalents which may be included within the scope and spirit of the present invention that is defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, many specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention; however, it will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without specific details. In some other instances, well-known procedures, components and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present invention.
In
As shown, consumer viner 102 and vendor viner 104 are communicably coupled to transactional social media server system or (transactional server system) 106 via Internet/communication network 108. Although not shown, Internet/communication network 108 represents any distributed network (wired, wireless or otherwise) for the transmission and receipt of data between two points. The system of the present invention can work effectively with any possible distribution of interconnected processors regardless of the specific topology, hardware and protocols used.
Here, consumer viner 102 is any person or entity that is a participant in a social media network. In other words, consumer viner 102 is a social media participant that wishes to interact with other users to share and exchange ideas and information within the transactional social media communication system 100.
Consumer viner 102 also wishes to view and access video content from others as well as pay for any and all content that is consumed. Although not shown, consumer viner 102 may utilize a mobile device, desktop device or the like for participating in the transaction social media platform.
Vendor viner 104 is a person or entity that wishes to commercialize and monetize video content by distributing said video content to consumer viners within transactional social media communication system 100. That is, vendor viner 104 is that entity or person with a profit motive in distributing video content. Although not shown, vendor viner 104 may utilize a mobile device, webpage device or desktop or other comparable device to access transactional social media server system 106.
Without limitation, video content for transactions may include music videos, feature movies, home based videos, educational and information videos and the like. Such video content is provided by vendor viner 104 for eventual distribution and purchase by social media participants such as consumer viner 102.
In
Among other components, transactional social media server system 106 further comprises web server 106A and application server 106B. Web server 106A can be a combination of processors and/or software capable of communicating with vendor viner 104 and consumer viner 102. Web server 106A may host a website (not shown) such as www.publicvine.com, via which consumer viner 102 and vendor viner 104 can access transactional social media server system 106.
Here, web server 106A may respond to HTTP or webpage requests from users and in conjunction with application server 106B provide responses such responses as video content from vendor viner 104 to a requesting consumer viner 102 for viewing. Application server 106B can also be a combination of hardware and software dedicated to managing the social media platform. Any suitable web server or application server consistent with the spirit and scope of the present invention can be utilized.
Referring now to additional components in
Consumer viner 110 might be a child participant in contrast to consumer viner 102, who might be an adult participant. Thus, the transactional social media communication system 100 of the present invention is intended to encompass a multiplicity of consumer types, ages and backgrounds because the system of the present invention includes a protective mechanism that prevents children from viewing inappropriate video content.
Although not shown, consumer viner 110 may also access the transactional social media server system via a mobile device, a tablet, a desktop or any comparable type device; moreover, consumer viners other than consumer viners 102 and 110 and vendor viners other than vendor viners 104 and 112 may be part of transactional social media communication system 100. The system of the present invention is also not limited to a single content provider, but a multiplicity of content providers can participate within the transactional social media system.
In
Thus, unlike conventional social media systems that comprise a single proprietary platform, transactional social media communication system 100 communicably integrates existing social media platforms within its network, significantly increasing the reach and distribution of content providers to consumers and users of other existing social media platforms.
In use, all viners that have become registered can participate in the system. Registration is initiated when vendor viner (prospective) 104 sends a registration request to become a participant in the transactional social media communication system. The same goes for vendor viner 112, who communicates a registration request to initiate registration. The registration request is received by transactional social media server system 106, which creates an account and a corresponding user ID for use by either vendor viners 104 and 112.
In a similar fashion, upon request for registration, corresponding accounts and access credentials are created for consumer viners 102 and 110. The system then assigns a channel that is a viner's URL (Universal Resource Locator) home address to each viner depending on whether the viner is a consumer or a vendor.
An advantage of the present invention is that a channel is assigned to every viner, the channel conceptually representing the viner's world. A viner can use this home address to connect, transact, interact, and exchange ideas. Each viner has a unique channel—“V” channels are for vendors and “C” channels are for consumers. From their channel, a viner can control their profile, video player, video store or video library, vines directory, social apps, etc.
Once accounts are created and channels are assigned, vendor viner 104 may invite the registered social media participants. Specifically, video vender 104 invites consumer viner 102 and/or consumer viner 110 to become “friends” or “fans,” etc. of vendor viner 104.
Once the invitation from vendor viner 104 is accepted, consumer viners 102 and 110 become part of vendor viner 104's vine. Here, a vine is the network of “friends,” “fans,” or viners connected to the inviting viner. The invited viners mutually agree to be associated with or be friends with the inviting viner, allowing the invited viners to view the invitee's profile, follow each other's postings, receive new video content messages, etc. The invited viners may also have additional privileges such as the ability to request, preview and pay for content offered by vendor viner 104.
Here, specifically, consumer viner 102 and consumer viner 110 now belong to vendor viner 104's vine. Consumer viner 102 and consumer viner 110 can freely interact and exchange ideas with vendor viner 104. Consumer viners 102 and 110 are also notified when new video content is available from vendor viner 104. A further advantage of the present invention is that consumer viners 102 and 110 can preview and then rent or purchase video content for an automatically determined price in one embodiment.
In one embodiment, consumer viner 102 and/or consumer viner 110 can also preview and access video content from vendor viner 112 by requesting access to and joining vendor viner 112's vine. In an alternate embodiment, consumer viner 102 need not join vendor viner 112's vine to view, purchase or rent content where the transactional social media platform is primarily focused on growth of the vendor viner's consumer base.
Further, consumers (not shown) of existing social media platforms 114 and 116 may also be invited to preview, join the transactional platform and then purchase or rent video content from either vendor viner 104 or vendor viner 112. Further description of the use and operation of the present invention will be described with reference to the following drawings.
In
PublicVine 106 is the central platform to which other system components are communicably coupled. Thus, social media platform 114, here Facebook™ 114 is communicably coupled to PublicVine 106. Social media platform or Twitter™ 116 is also communicably attached to PublicVine 106. Consumer viners 102 and 110 are further coupled to PublicVine 106. And vendor viners 104 and 112 are integrated with PublicVine 106.
PublicVine 106 facilitates transactions between the communicably coupled participants. Specifically, PublicVine 106 enables vendors of music videos, reality shows and feature movies to use PublicVine's network as well as existing social networks such as Twitter™ 116 and Facebook™ 114 to market and monetize their video content worldwide.
Thus, users such as consumer viner 102 and consumer viner 110 can watch premium music videos, reality shows and feature movies provided by vendor viner 104 and vendor viner 112. PublicVine 106 facilitates these transactions and in one embodiment determines an applicable price for transactions. Consumer viners 102 and 110 may also interact with vendor viners 104 and 112, exchange ideas, chat and initiate and execute various apps (e.g., games) and the like.
In
Web server 202 responds to such webpage requests, and in conjunction with application server 206 and database server 204, can facilitate transactions requested by consumer viner 102 such as a request to view video content and/or chat or exchange information with other consumer viners. Examples of the requested webpage interfaces are described below with reference to
Application server 206 can manage capabilities such as load balancing, etc. as well as support business back end capabilities of the present invention such as video content pricing, revenue sharing, social graph analysis, and viral invitations to vendor viners and consumer viners including using APIs (Application Programming Interfaces (not shown)) to communicate with external contacts or access existing social networking platforms such as Facebook™.
An example of application server 206 that is suitable for the present invention is Oracle's WebLogic server in an EJB (Enterprise Java Beans) provided environment. These are but examples, and one skilled in the art will realize that other suitable software and/or hardware can be utilized with the present invention.
Database server 204 processes and manages data for storage and retrieval on user profiles database 218, viral invitations database 216, channel access rules database 220, channel store database 222 and graph store database 224. Any suitable database consistent with the principles and precepts of the present invention may be utilized.
In
In
In
As shown, vendor viner store interface 400 includes two main sections namely video display area 402 and information display area 404. Video display area 402 outputs video content from a video player, displaying said video content over a substantial area of the screen. Here, the currently playing video content 406 is “Messi Combo 2013” as shown by title display 407. “Messi Combo 2013” is one of a plurality of video content items uploaded by vendor viner 104, who is assigned channel symbol “V-10” and named “HISTORY CHANNEL” as shown by channel title display 408.
Video display area 402 also includes button 410 and button 412 for respectively inviting others to view video content and for editing video information. (Selection of button 412 also displays video content label interface 900 of
In
Vendor viner 104 selects channels 422 to display all of the channels available to vendor viner 104. A channel is a viner's home address from where vendor viner 104 can connect and initiate video content transactions. In the present embodiment, each viner has a unique channel—“V” channels are for vendors and “C” channels are for consumers. From their channel, a viner can control their profile, video player, video store or video library, vines directory, social apps, etc. Here, vendor viner's designated channel is V-10 as shown at 408.
Vendor viner 104 may select vines 424 to display his or her vines that are stratified into multiple categories or groups of viners as will be further discussed. As an example, viners may be stratified into spiritualvines comprising viner's associated with vendor viner 104's church.
Similarly, vendor viner 104 may display the vendor's store by selecting store 426 as shown here, which then displays a plurality of thumbnails 421 associated with video content stored in channel V-10. Vendor viner 104 may also display apps by selecting apps 428 to display or initiate any number of apps including chat, email, etc.
Vendor viner store interface 400 also includes various buttons along the upper periphery of the screen, the buttons including “Invite Others to View Video” 410 for inviting users to view an uploaded video, edit video 412 for editing information and meta data associated with video content, upload video 430 for uploading video content to channel V-10, invite others to public vine 432 for inviting others to the transactional social media platform, PVC button 434 that shows the amount of credit in the vendor's account, channel display button 436 that displays the vendor's current channel and my profile button 438 that can be used to view and edit the vendor's profile.
An advantage of the present invention is that vendor viner store interface 400 also includes price per rent display 413, which here indicates that the price for renting video content 406 is $0.60. One of ordinary skill in the art will realize that vendor viner store interface 400 is just an exemplary embodiment and other implementations consistent with the spirit and scope of the present invention are possible.
In
At block 502, transactional social media server system 106 receives a registration request from a prospective viner. The registration request may be sent by a computing device (not shown) associated with the prospective viner. Responsive thereof, web server 202 (
At decision block 504, it is determined whether the registration request is for a vendor. In one embodiment, this determination is based on which selection is made by the prospective viner on registration form 600A of
If a vendor, the prospective viner selects vendor button 602 to indicate that he or she is a vendor. Upon selection, the appropriate fields 604 corresponding to vendor button 602 are displayed. Non-corresponding buttons are grayed out.
Here, the prospective viner can indicate a commercial name in field 606, indicate the number of video titles to be uploaded in video upload field 605, indicate its tax ID in field 608, register date in field 610 and may upload the certificate of incorporation by selecting button 612.
The prospective viner may also indicate whether or not he or she is a company or an individual by selecting link 603A or 603B. The prospective viner can also use drop down menus and fields 614 to indicate the responsible person. Once registration form 600A is completed, the prospective viner selects the register button 616 to submit registration form 600A to web server 202 (
At block 508, registration method 500 then registers the prospective viner as a vendor (i.e. vendor viner 104). Typically, application server 206 (
Returning to decision block 504, if registration is not for a vendor, the method proceeds to decision block 506.
At decision block 506, method 500 determines whether registration is for a consumer based on registration form 600B of
In
Upon completion of all of the information, the prospective viner selects register button 632 to submit all of the information to web server 202 to complete registration. Note here that unlike registration form 600A that includes video upload field 605 for entering the number of videos for upload, registration form 600B has no such indication as consumers are not permitted to upload video content under the present system.
At block 508 (
In
In
The vendor channel is a user's home address that aggregates all of the files and content uploaded by the vendor. Unlike conventional systems that store their content in disparate locations and do not have a specific channel with which vendor viners can be associated, the present invention assigns an exclusively identifiable identifier to a vendor viner and stores all of the vendor viner's content in one single location. This makes it effortless to search for and identify the vendor as well as to observe a listing of all the content in the vendor viner's account.
The present invention is flexible as vendor viner 104 or 112 may use channel name field 704 of vendor viner channel form 700A to enter his or her own channel identifier. Vendor viner 104 may also use drop-down button 706 to select a channel group. Channels that have similar subject matter may be grouped in the same category. Vendor viner 104 may also use drop-down button 708 to select sub-channel groups.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it uses a rating system to manage channels as well as video content. Drop-down button 710 can be employed to assign a particular rating to a video channel. In particular, in one embodiment, various ratings include G—subject matter that is appropriate for a general audience; PG (Parental Guidance) or R (Restricted), and these can be assigned to a channel. In this manner, mature content such as pornographic materials or other content inappropriate for children can be restricted to the appropriate channels.
Once all of this information is entered, vendor viner 104 than selects create button 712 to transmit vendor viner channel form 700A to transactional social media server system 106. Responsive thereof, application server 206 (
Referring now to block 510B, after transactional social media server 106 has registered consumer viner 102, the system next assigns a consumer channel to consumer viner 102, sending consumer channel form 700B (
In
Referring now to block 510A, after a vendor viner channel is created for vendor viner 104, the method proceeds to decision block 512.
At decision block 512, it is determined whether vendor viner 104 wishes to upload video content. Without limitation, video content may include commercially viable music videos, documentaries, game shows, reality shows, feature films, instructional videos and other like content. If vendor viner 104 wishes to upload video content, the method proceeds to block 514.
At block 514, vendor viner 104 uploads video content using upload video interface 800 of
Specifically, in
At block 516, after video content is uploaded, it is checked for channel restrictions. That is, the video content is compared to the channel ratings to determine compatibility.
In one embodiment, indicating the rating of the content is compared to the channel rating to determine if the video content is allowed. As an example, if the channel rating of Vendor-22 is PG, video content with an R rating cannot be uploaded. In an alternate embodiment, the video content may be uploaded and monitored by users. Users can flag and report inappropriate content, which may then thereafter be disabled for viewing.
In another embodiment, the video content rating is not compared to the channel rating. The video content is uploaded but the channel ratings for different channels are compared to determine compatibility between channels. For example, a channel rated M (mature) cannot show up on the channel listings for a channel rated PG, for example.
At decision block 518, if the video content and the channel ratings are compatible, the method proceeds to block 520.
At block 520, the method allows vendor viner 104 to use video content label interface 900 of
Vendor viner 104 can enter a director label, producer label, actors, the budget, a tag and a description of video content. Vendor viner 104 can also use drop-down button 904 to set thumbnails and drop-down button 906 to create previews. Upon completing video content label interface 900, vendor viner 104 selects done button 908 to transmit video content label interface 900 to web server 202.
At block 522, a pricing for the uploaded video content is determined. An advantage of one embodiment of the present invention is that pricing is automatically determined by video content pricing module 208 (
Auto Video Content Pricing:
Pricing module 208 uses an algorithm that determines the price that video content will be sold for by using the following equation:
PF=MPF*BC (1)
where PF is the Price Floor; MPF is a Multiple of the Price Floor that is a constant, preferably 5; and BC is the Base Cost according to the following equation:
where:
-
- cb is the cost of bandwidth per megabyte;
- max{se1, . . . , se|E|} size (largest encoded video);
- cs is the cost of monthly storage per megabyte;
- su is the size of uploaded video;
- v is the generic video variable;
- E is the set of all encoded videos;
- sv is video size;
- SPS is a constant=10, the number of monthly views over which to spread monthly
- storage cost;
- du is duration of uploaded video rounded to the nearest minute;
- ce is the cost of standard definition encoding per min;
- |S| is the quantity of all SD encoded videos;
- ch is the cost of HD encoding per min;
- |H| is the quantity of all HD encoded videos;
- SPE is a constant −100, number of monthly views over which to spread one-time encoding cost
Here, the term: cbmax{se1, . . . , se|E|} in equation 1 is the bandwidth cost, BA.
The term
in equation 1 represents storage, S, the cost of monthly storage per MB multiplied by the size of uploaded video+cumulative sum of size of encoded videos all divided by the spread.
The term
in equation 1 represents E encoding cost is given by: (duration of the uploaded video*(cost of standard definition encoding per second*standard definition count+cost of high definition encoding per second*high definition count))/number of monthly views over which to spread encoding cost.
However, vendor viner 104 need not utilize the automatic pricing that's determined by the system. The vendor viner 104 may manually set a different pricing level, either below or above the automatically determined price of the video content. If the automatically determined pricing of the video content is not used, the amount of revenue received by all revenue sharing participants is altered. As we will further described in co-pending patent application filed concurrently herewith the present invention includes a revenue sharing algorithm implemented by revenue sharing algorithm 210 (
Briefly, revenue sharing algorithm 210 shares the revenue obtained by sales of video content from each sale of video content amongst various participants including the video content owner, the transactional social media platform, the user that referred the vendor to join the network and the user that referred the consumer that purchased the video content. After the video content pricing is determined, the process proceeds to block 524.
At block 524, in one embodiment, as an alternative, vendor viner 104 may set up existing social networks and thereafter upload a new video message to the walls of such existing social networks. As an example, if vendor viner 104 has a Facebook™ account, vendor viner 104 may typing a message to his Facebook™ wall stating that new video content has been uploaded by vendor viner 104 to vendor channel V22.
At block 526, the video content is stored on vendor channel vendor-22. Thereafter the process proceeds to block 528.
At block 528, vendor viner 104 may then invite viewers to view the new uploaded video content. To facilitate invitation of viewers, transactional social media server system and specifically web server 202 transmits content view invite interface 1000A of
In
The term vine refers to all of the users contacts, social network, friends, fans, all the like, whether or not those users are internal or external to the transactional social media platform. An advantage of the present invention is that a user's vine or social graph can be stratified or compartmentalized into categories as shown.
Unlike conventional social networking systems that lumps all of the user's social graph or contacts into a single category of friendship, the present invention stratifies the social graph or contacts into multiple categories or sections of friends. Specifically, the present invention includes a schoolvine and a familyvine group of friends. The schoolvine includes all friends that are associated with the user's school. The familyvine includes family or family members including immediate and extended family members for example.
Herein is an immediate advantage of the present invention. Since friends that are associated with a user's school may not necessarily and in fact oftentimes are not family members, the present application stratifies those two groups and keeps contact and message between those two groups, or interactions between those two groups separate.
The transactional social media platform of the present invention also includes a workvine and a spiritual vine. The workvine includes all friends that are associated with the user's work, while the spiritual vine includes all friends that are spiritually associated with the user, including faith members, agnostic members, etc. The transactional social media platform also includes a play vine and a favorite vine. The play vine includes contacts that are associated with a person's social activity while a favorite vine includes any and all contacts that are a favorite of the user.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it includes an external vine and a holdingvine. An external vine is the category of users or contacts that are outside of the transactional social media platform such as contacts and friends that may be on Facebook, Twitter, Google, or even email.
A holdingvine is a transitional category that is intended to hold contacts and friends from an external network before they are categorized into any one of the internal vines namely the schoolvine, workvine, play vine, familyvine, spiritual vine, and the favorite vine.
In
Note that initially, a newly registered viner may have no contacts or friends internally and so there would be no vines or friends within schoolvine, workvine, play vine, familyvine, spiritual vine and the favorite vine. In such a case, the viner would invite the external vine after which those external contacts that accept an invitation into the network are stored into the holdingvine.
Here, vendor viner 104 has selected checkbox 1020 to invite externalvine contacts. Vendor viner 104 may also select individual viners from all of the vines. By selecting drop down button 1022 and then entering a contact name search field 1024 to search the selected vine. Note that external vines also include email contacts as well. For example an email contact may be john123@gmail.com with the name John Doe as shown at 1026. After users have been invited to view the video content, the process proceeds to decision box 530.
At decision box 530, if the invited users do not accept the invitation to view the video content, the process is terminated at end block 546.
If one or more users accept the invitation to view video content, the process proceeds to decision block 532.
At decision block 532 it is determined whether the invited users are on an external social graph. That is, whether or not the invited users are external contacts who are not currently on the transactional social media platform.
If the invited users are on an external social graph, the process returns to block 508, where the invited users are registered and allocated channels within the transactional social media platform. In one embodiment, no registration is required, and invited users may access video content so long as they provide an acceptable payment method for which they can be charged for viewing such video content.
In another embodiment, all users and/or viners (both external and internal) must be registered viners on a vendor's vine or social graph in order for the user to access video content from that video viner. Thus, the transactional social media platform determines tracks and checks a viner's social graph when a consumer request for video content access is requested as further described with reference to
In
As shown, on social graph 1050B, each vendor viner and consumer viner is a node. For example, vendor 1, vendor 2 and consumer 1, consumer 4 are all nodes. A multiplicity of edges connects the nodes. For example, V1C1 is an edge connecting vendor 1 and consumer 1. Edge C3C1 connects consumer 3 and consumer 11.
Each connection between two nodes represents a relationship between the two nodes. Each connection also establishes a degree of separation between the two nodes. A degree of separation can be 1st degree, where a direct connection exists between two viners, that is, where two viners are direct friends; or it might be 2nd degree where two viners are separated by a node, where the two viners are friends indirectly via a direct friend, etc. Thus, for example, vendor 1 and consumer 2 are separated by a 1st degree or connection edge V1C1 while vendor 1 and consumer 8 are separated by a 2nd degree or two edges V1C2 C2C8.
The degree of separation and number of connections can vary. The 1st degree connections for example, between vendor viners and consumer viners may be multiple or single connections. Thus, vendor 1 and consumer 1 are connected via edge V1C1 to and vendor 1 and consumer 2 are also linked via edge V1C2. Vendor 2 and consumers 2, 3, 4, and 5 are respectively linked via V2C2, V2C3, V2C4 and V2C5 to consumer 5. Vendor 3 has only a single connection to consumer 5 via V3C5.
The 2nd degree connections between consumers may also vary from single to multiple connections. Consumer 1 is connected to consumers 7, 8 and 9 via edges C1C7 and C1C8 and C1C9 respectively. Whereas, consumer 2 is only connected to consumer 8 via edge C2C8. All of the aforementioned consumer connections represent a second degree of separation from vendor 1. The higher the number of connections linking a vendor viner to consumer viners, the higher the revenue potential for the vendor viner. Note that consumers can make revenue based on their connections to other consumers who make commission.
Social graph 1050B is managed by social graph module 214 (
In one embodiment, the adjacency list is then used to determine consumer viners that will receive invitations to view new video content uploaded by the video viner. In an alternate embodiment, the adjacency list of relationships may be generated based on a request from a consumer to purchase (or rent) video content purchase from a consumer.
Thus, in one embodiment, the list may be employed to determine whether a consumer viner may access video content. Thus, if it is required that the degree of separation between a consumer and vendor viner must be 1st degree for the consumer viner to access content, in
If a connection must exist between a consumer and a vendor viner for the consumer viner to access content, consumers 1, 2, 7, 8, and 2 that are connected to vendor 1 can access content from vendor 1 while consumer 10 may not do so because there is no connection between and consumer 10 and vendor 1. Yet, in a further embodiment, any consumer viner on the online social network may access content from any vendor.
In
Consumers that are connected to vendors may also be external to the transactional social media platform. For example, consumer 9 may be a member of a traditional social networking platform such as Facebook™. Thus, consumer 9 on Facebook™ may be connected via edge C191 to consumer 1, who is a viner on the transactional social media platform.
Returning to decision block 532, if the invited users are not an external social graph, the process proceeds to decision block 534.
At decision block 534, it is determined whether the invited users are on vendor viner 104's internal social graph, that is, whether or not invited users are viners. If invited users are not in the transactional social platform, an error message is generated and the process terminates at end block 546 since all users must be either internal or external. If the invited users are viners within the internal social graph, the process proceeds to block 536.
At block 536, the invited viners may preview the video content. Note however, that in one embodiment, viners may not preview video content if their channel ratings are incompatible with the ratings of their own channel or rating of the video content. After the video content is previewed at block 536, the process proceeds to decision block 538.
At decision block 538, it is determined whether the invited viners wish to purchase the previewed video content. If the viners do not wish to purchase video content, the process proceeds to end block 546 where the process is terminated. If the invited viners wish to purchase video content the process proceeds to block 540.
At block 540, the users are provided with access to the video content. Users may not receive access to video content if their assigned channel is incompatible with the rating of the video content channel.
At block 542, the user is charged for purchase or rent of the video content. Herein is another advantage of the present invention. Unlike existing social networks where there are no video content transactions, the present invention facilitates transactions that offer or rent video content and provides an automatic mechanism for determining pricing and charging the consumer for such video content.
At block 544, the system stores access to purchase or rented video contents in the consumer's library (see
At block 546, the process is terminated.
Returning to decision block 512, after vendor viner 104 has been assigned an exclusively identifiable channel e.g., Vendor-22, if vendor viner 104 does not wish to upload video content, the process proceeds to block 548.
At block 548, vendor viner 104 invites one or more of his or her contacts on an external social network to join the transactional social media platform. Note that viners can either send invitations to external contacts to view video content or to register on the platform. Thus, another advantage of the present invention is that the invite system is viral.
Vendor viner 104 within the transactional social media platform can send invitations to external contacts. In turn, after registering on the platform, the registered external contacts, now viners can then send invitations to other external contacts via the same invite system, thus growing the viner base of the transactions social media platform. Similarly, if the invitation is a video view invite to an external contact, the external contact after registration can send the same video view invitation to both viners and external contacts outside of the platform.
Note also that unlike conventional social media networks that send links that share videos, the transactional social video platforms sends invitations including data objects, discussed below, the invitations requiring the external users to preview video content after registration and to access such video content upon payment for the video content.
As noted, vendor viner 104 to communicates or sends to the external contact outside the transactional social media platform, an invitation for the external contact to register with the platform. In one embodiment, the invitation includes a data object that identifies the video viner 104 and the invited external contact. For example, the data object may include the following fields: 1) inviter_viner_id: 123321; 2) inviter_viner_name: vendor viner 104; invitee_id: 2348; invitee_name: john_doe. The data object associates the inviter viner and the invitee external user.
This is another advantage of the present invention. The transactional social media platform uses the data object to determine new users and to track a new user that is invited by a specific viner. Here, for example, the data object may be used to identify that the new viner was invited by video viner 104. Associating new users and inviters, if any, has significant ramifications because of the revenue sharing system of the present invention as further described elsewhere in this disclosure. Whenever the new viner generates revenue either because the viner is a video viner that sells or rents out content or because the viner is a consumer that buys content, the inviter viner that invited the new viner also receives an allocable portion of the revenue.
At decision block 550, the invited contacts may accept or decline an invitation to join a network. If the users decline the invitation to join a network, the process proceeds to end block 546 where the process is terminated.
If the users accept the invitation to join the transactional social media platform, the process proceeds to block 508 where the invited user is registered as a consumer or vendor. If the invited user is a vendor as previously discussed, a vendor channel is allocated at block 510A followed by implementation of the previously discussed steps.
If an invited user is a consumer, a consumer channel is allocated at block 510B, and thereafter, at decision block 552, it is determined whether the consumer was invited to watch video content by a vendor viner (i.e., vendor viner 104) to watch the video content. If the consumer was not invited by a vendor viner to watch the content, as in such cases where the consumer or user is registering without any invitation, the process proceeds to block 546 where it is terminated.
If the consumer is an invited user (invited by a vendor viner to watch video content), the process proceeds to block 554.
At block 554, the system adds the consumer to the vendor viner's holdingvine after which the process proceeds to block 536.
At block 536, the consumer can now preview a video since the consumer was initially invited to view video content. A consumer can then proceed to the remainder of the steps as were previously described to choose, pay and access content.
Static Revenue Sharing
Another advantage of the present invention is that viners that refer other viners to view content and/or register with the transactional social media platform are allocated a portion of revenue derived from video content sales or rentals. In one embodiment, “Static Revenue Sharing,” may be used to allocate revenues. In
Between the four participants, the entirety of the video content revenue generated from rental or sales is shared. This 100% also takes into account the percentage of the price allocated for the bandwidth, storage, and encoding (BASE) cost. The static revenue shares are determined by the following equations:
RV=V=K(PPR−BC)[PV+(!fV?:0)+(VVI?PVVI:0)]
RPV=PV=K(PPR−BC)[PPV+(VI&& fV?PVI:0]
RW=WS=w?PV min(PWR+PWB,PWM):0
RPV=PV=PV−WS
RVI=VIC=K(PPR−BC)(∃VI&&fVI?PVI:0)
RVVI=VVIC=K(PPR−BC)(VVI?PVVI:0)
where the variables, constants, abbreviations, notations and operators are described with reference to in or about paragraph 233 below.
Viral Revenue Sharing
In a second embodiment, viral revenue sharing further shares the vendor viner's and consumer viner's static revenue and allows them to geometrically monetize their social networks by generating viral revenue commissions when there are inviters beyond the four participants 1060, 1062, 1064 and 1066 in the static revenue scheme.
In
Note that inviters 1068, 1080 and 1082, etc. may or may not exist. And, for consumer/content purchaser inviter 1066, two possible inviters or inviter lines may exist: 1) the viner (and subsequent viners) that might have invited consumer/content purchaser inviter 1066 to register on the platform represented by PVIL (PublicVine Invite Line) 1073 of
In contrast to consumer/content purchaser inviter 1066 where two possibilities exist, for vendor inviter 1064, only one possibility exists: the viner that might have invited vendor inviter 1064 to register with the platform represented by VIL (Vendor Invite Line) 1072 of
Therefore, if one or more of inviter 1068, 1080 or 1082 exist, then a single geometrical level of payments that must be made to the inviters is added to the static revenue payments. Each geometric level is represented by lines “n” on the x axis, e.g. level 1 shown as 1076, level 2 shown as 1078, etc. The viral revenue commission (vrc) generated for each individual inviter are based on the following equations. In this manner, when a viner invites an external user that registers and becomes a new viner, in one embodiment, everytime the new viner receives payment, the inviter viner also receives a payment.
Levels: For VIL & VVIL (see 1072 and 1074 of
so
nlVIL=min(log10max{PPR+0.01,FC}+IL−log10FC,alVIL)
nlVVIL=min(log10max{PPR+0.01,FC}+IL−log10FC,alVVIL)
On VVI lines we may have PVI lines branching out at each node (
nlPVILr=min(log10max{PPR+0.01,FC}+IL−log10FC−r,alPVILn)
where PVILr is the PVI line branching out of its root VVI node at level r. Note that nlPVIL does not include its root VVIr node, or any other node before that (hence −r−1).
Nodes: The maximum number of viral nodes mn (i.e. the highest possible number of viral beneficiaries of a transaction) grows exponentially with respect to the maximum number of levels ml, at a rate of O(ml2). Nodes on static level 0 (VI0 and VVI0) are not considered viral nodes:
mn(ml)=0.5ml2+2.5ml
The maximum number of viral nodes ln at level n is: ln(n)=n+2
Viral Revenue Commission: The effective/final viral revenue commission vrc for a node at level n on an invite line L, is defined by the following recursive function, where r is the root level for L, and T is the split ratio of the root's 10% to which L is entitled (TVIL, is 100%; TVVIL and TPVIL are both 50%).
vrc(n,r)L=TLVRCLr/10n−r−Σi=n+1nl+T−1vrc(i,r)L0≦n<nlL
Here, VRCLr is the initial shareable viral revenue commission at node (L, r):
VRCLr=VRCLr(r−1)/10 where VRCL(−1)=PPR
For VIL & VVIL, where 0≦n<nlVIL, and 0≦n<nlVVIL respectively, and r is always 0:
vrc(n,0)VIL=TVILVIC0/10n−Σi=n+1nl−1vrc(i,0)VIL
vrc(n,0)VVIL=[TVVIL+(∃PVIn∥(n=nlVVIL−1)?TPVIL(∃PVIn?0: TPVIL))]VVIC0/10n−Σi=n+1nl−1vrc(i,0)VVIL
For PVIL, where 0<n<nlVVIL, and n<r<nlVVIL:
vrc(n,r)PVIL(∃PVIr?TPVIL: 0)VVICr/10n−r−Σl=n+1nl+rvrc(l,r)PVIL
Algorithm: The above equations are applied to a transaction in a tree topology, and vrc calculations can proceed along the tree in 2 ways. Method 1 might be faster while method 2 is more applicable where the tree topology is known.
1) Forward—from root to leaves. Calculate node commissions nc (vrc) while building the tree, starting at root level 0.
2) Backward—from leaves to root. Build the tree first starting at root level 0, then calculate nc starting from leaves.
The algorithms to determine viral revenue commission at each level for all invite lines are therefore:
Forward—calculates vrc while building tree:
Backward—assumes tree is built:
Variables and functions used in equations above: the actual number of levels (or nodes) for viral revenue sharing, for a given line (inclusive of static level 0—this applies to any count of levels, i.e., IL, ml and nl except
Cb cost of BW per MB ($)
ce cost of SD encoding per min ($)
ch cost of HD encoding per min ($)
cs cost of monthly storage per MB ($)
d duration of video, rounded up to the nearest minute (function, mins)
e encoded video
f freshness (fvl is true if vendor invite is fresh, i.e., <1 year old; otherwise fvl is false) (function, boolean)
ln (level nodes) number of nodes at a given viral revenue sharing level (across all invite lines)
ml maximum number of levels for viral revenue sharing, applicable to all lines (determined by PPR)
mn maximum number of viral nodes (viral beneficiaries) for a given transaction
ncLn node commission (the commission for a given line L, at a given level n)
nl effective number of levels for viral revenue sharing, for a given line (the lesser of ml and al)
pwR percentage of wholesaler's subscriber base registered onto PublicVine by wholesaler (%)
s size of video (function, MB)
u uploaded video
v generic video variable
w wholesale transaction (function, boolean)
E set of all encoded videos
H set of all HD encoded videos
S set of all SD encoded videos
|H| quantity of all HD encoded videos
|S| quantity of all SD encoded videos
Constants Used in the Above Equations:
Abbreviations Used in the Above Equations:
Notation Used in the Above Equations:
Psuedo-Code Operators Used in the Above Equations:
In
Thus, users such as vendor viner 104 are not limited to viewing their own channels or consumer channels. They can also view other vendor channels to preview video content on those vendor channels in order to keep current as to what other vendor viners are offering.
Vendor viner 104 may also use vendor-on-vendor interface 1100 to displayvine groupings 1105 in which the vendor viner 104's contacts are stratified. Specifically, vendor viner 104 may select vines tab 424 to display drop-down buttons for schoolvines 1106, workvine 1108, playvine 1110, familyvine 1112, spiritualvine 1114, favoritevine 1116, holdingvine 1118 and another drop-down button for externalvine 1120.
Each of these vines includes stratified contacts, friends, fans or the like that are stratified as previously noted in two different categories. Here, as shown in
In
Note that the contacts within one social graph or vine are not mutually exclusive vis-à-vis another vine. For example, contact DNC and channel V-45 may be part of workvine 1108 and can also be part of favoritevine 1116. Although not shown, viners may be added, may be moved, edited, or moved from one vine to another vine or may be deleted in their entirety. In this manner, the present invention allows vendor viners to display their contacts in different social graphs and/or categorize such contacts according to their needs. It is also noted that the vines that may be created are not limited to those disclosed.
In
Vendor viner 104 may access this interface by selecting the “My profile” button 438 of
In
Selecting channel settings 1402 displays information relating to the current channel that is assigned—in this case, V-10. Once the information for channel settings is displayed, vendor viner 104 can select drop-down buttons to edit fields and/or to change the default channel V-10, to change the channel name or channel sub-group or channel rating or website, and in fact, vendor viner 104 can add a new channel by selecting button 1412.
In
In
If vendor viner 104 wishes to join Sameer's vine, he or she may simply select “accept invitation” 1608 to accept and join Sameer's vine. Of course, vendor viner 104 may also select “reject” 1610 to reject the invitation. An advantage of the present invention is that responsive to Sameer's invitation, vendor viner 104 can also invite Sameer to join his or her network.
As can be seen at 1606, vendor viner 104 may select a checkbox for: all my vines 1612, schoolvines 1614, etc. Here, specifically, vendor viner 104 has selected checkbox for playvine 1616 and thereafter selects invite button 1618 after which a corresponding invitation is sent to Sameer. In this manner, unlike conventional social networking platforms, the present invention permits one party to send an invitation to another party and the other party to send a corresponding invitation such that if the invitations are accepted, each invitee now belongs to each other's social network. In another embodiment, one party may invite only; Further, yet one party may invite and the other may reject.
In
Access to that information can be based on specific fields. As shown here, vines are located in a single row 1702. Vendor viner's information or fields related to vendor viner's information are located in column 1704. The intersection of each column and row has a checkbox which, upon being checked, can provide the vine on the row access to the information in the column.
For example, here, checkbox 1706 has been selected. Checkbox 1706 is at the intersection of playvine 1708 and address 1710. Thus, every contact in vendor viner 104's playvine will have viewing access to vendor viner 104's address. In this manner, specific fields of information can be tailored to specific vines or groups of contacts.
In
In
Video content that has been rented or paid for can be viewed within video display area 402. Video content from vendor viner store or consumer channels may also be previewed within the video display area 402. Note that consumer's own channel interface 1900 belongs to consumer viner 102 and represents the entirety of the world for consumer viner 102. All of consumer viner 102's contacts can be stored within this area.
In
For example, channel V-45 owned by ESPN and sponsored by Disney with preview rating 14 is displayed as shown at 2008. Other sports channels are also shown as well. Consumer's own channel interface 2000 also includes a show program schedule link 2004 which, when selected, displays the sports live event guide of
As shown in
In
In
In
As previously noted, vendor viners may set buy or rent prices above or below the system-determined price for rent or buy. For example, as can be seen here at 2410, the suggested price for rent is $1.50. However, vendor viner 104 has elected to set the rent price for renting video content at $2.00. Vendor viner 104 may also see what portion of a given transaction is due the vendor viner.
In
In
In the transactional social media platform, consumers often encounter video content on other consumer channels and may wish to rent or purchase such video content. Since consumers cannot offer rental or purchase of video content, video content encountered by a consumer must be rented from a vendor viner.
Here, consumer viner 102 has previewed video content after which “rent or buy” button 2606 is shown prompting consumer viner 102 to either rent or to buy the video content.
As shown, the system indicates that the cost for renting the video is $3.00/24 hrs. The cost for buying the video content outright is $9.00.
In
By using PVCs, consumers can load and store credits over and beyond their initial purchase amounts, thus reducing backend payment processing that occurs every time a purchase is made and saving the consumer's by not having to make payments every time a purchase is made and to save money by not having to pay transaction fees. Moreover, the present invention is a global platform with global consumers, some of which may have no access to credit card payments or the like. PVCs allow such consumers to pay using gateway cash and telecomm pay as you go units to purchase PVC credits, for example.
In one embodiment, the amount of PVCs that can be purchased depends on the U.S. dollar: e.g., $1=1 PVC. In an alternate embodiment, the amount of PVCs that may be purchased would depend on the national currency where the PVC is being purchased and need not necessarily be pegged to a U.S. dollar value.
In
As consumer viner 102 consummates video content transactions, appropriate PVC amounts are deducted from his or her account. Corresponding purchased or rented video content is then appears in the consumer's assigned channel C-8 for subsequent viewing access.
Thus, the transactional social media platform of the present invention provides a video content online shopping mall, where video vendors can open their own online and mobile video content store to rent or sell video content to consumers. Unlike conventional systems that have failed to recognize the long-felt need that consumers wish to purchase directly from video content providers, the present invention provides an “online and mobile direct-to-consumer” platform for consummating video content sales and rentals within a social media platform context. Moreover, consumers are also compensated for transactions that result from the referring and promoting video content unlike traditional content providers that either do not compensate users or provide inconsequential incentives to users.
While the above is a complete description of exemplary specific embodiments of the invention, additional embodiments are also possible. Thus, the above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.
Claims
1. A method comprising:
- by one or more processors associated with one or more computing devices, establishing a social graph comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of edges connecting the nodes, each of one of said nodes being associated with one of a plurality of users of an online social network, each connection between two nodes representing a relationship between the two nodes and establishing a degree of separation between the two nodes;
- by one or more of the processors, creating two user categories and grouping the plurality of users of the online social network into said two user categories: 1) vendors or vendor accounts that are configured to upload video content to the online social network, wherein upon request from the vendor to upload video content, the vendor is granted access to upload said video content; and 2) consumers or consumer accounts that are configured to prevent uploading of video content to the online social network, wherein upon request by the consumer to upload video content, said consumer is denied access to upload said video content;
- by one or more of the processors, determining, a price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content associated with the vendor of the online social network, the vendor being associated with a first node of the plurality of nodes of the online social network;
- by one or more of the processors, receiving a request from the consumer of the online social network, to purchase one of said video content associated with the vendor and hosted by the online social network, the consumer being associated with a second node of the plurality of nodes; and
- by one or more of the processors, granting the consumer access to the requested video content; and automatically charging or deducting from an account of the consumer of the online social network, the determined price of the video content transmitted to the consumer.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising
- by one or more of the processors, creating for each and every vendor of the online social network, a unique channel configured to be a uniform resource locator home address of the vendor, assigning the vendor channel exclusively to the vendor, wherein the vendor channel is configured to store all of the video content associated with the vendor; and
- by one or more of the processors, creating for each and every consumer, a unique channel configured to be a uniform resource locator home address of the consumer, assigning the consumer channel exclusively to the consumer, wherein the vendor channel is a library configured to store access to of the video content purchased from vendors.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising
- by one or more of the processors, automatically determining without user intervention, the price paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content items associated with the vendor of the online social network, by using an algorithm that generates a BASE (Bandwidth Storage Encoding) cost based on the cost for bandwidth, storage, and encoding of the video content.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising where cb is the cost of bandwidth per MB; and max{sel,..., se|E|} represents size (largest encoded video).
- by one or more of the processors, automatically determining without user intervention, the price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content associated with the vendor of the online social network, by using an algorithm that generates a BASE (Bandwidth Storage Encoding) cost based on at least the cost for bandwidth (BA) determined according to the following equation: BA=cbmax{sel,...,se|E|}
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising S = c s ( s u + Σ v ∈ E s v ) S P S where cs is the cost of monthly storage of all video content on system per megabyte; su is the size of uploaded video content from the vendor; v is a generic video variable; E is a set of all encoded video content; sv is size of video v and SPS is a constant=10, the number of monthly views over which to spread monthly storage cost.
- by one or more of the processors, automatically determining without user intervention, the price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content associated with the vendor of the online social network, by using an algorithm that generates a BASE (Bandwidth Storage Encoding) cost based on at least the cost for storage (S) determined according to the following equation:
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising S = d u ( c e S + c h H ) S P E where du is duration of uploaded video rounded to the nearest minute; ce is the cost of standard definition encoding per min ($); |S| is the quantity of all standard definition encoded videos; ch is cost of HD encoding per min ($); |H| is quantity of all HD encoded videos; and SPE is a constant=100, the number of monthly views over which to spread one-time encoding cost.
- by one or more of the processors, automatically determining without user intervention, the price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content associated with the vendor of the online social network, by using an algorithm that generates a BASE (Bandwidth Storage Encoding) cost based on at least the encoding cost (E) of the video content is determined according to the following equation:
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising BASE = c b max { s e 1, … , s e E } + c s ( s u + Σ v ∈ E s v ) S P S + d u ( c e S + c h H ) S P E where ch is the cost of bandwidth per MB; max{sel,..., se|E|} represents size (largest encoded video); cs is the cost of monthly storage of all video content on system per megabyte; su is the size of uploaded video content from the vendor; v is a generic video variable; E is a set of all encoded video content; sv is size of encoded video v and SPS is a constant=10, the number of monthly views over which to spread monthly storage cost; du is duration of uploaded video rounded to the nearest minute; ce is the cost of standard definition encoding per min ($); |S| is the quantity of all standard definition encoded videos; ch is cost of HD encoding per min ($); |H| is quantity of all HD encoded videos; and SPE is a constant=100, the number of monthly views over which to spread one-time encoding cost.
- by one or more of the processors, automatically determining without user intervention, the price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content items associated with the vendor of the online social network, by using an algorithm that generates a BASE (Bandwidth Storage Encoding) cost based on the cost for bandwidth, storage, and encoding of the video content according to the following equation:
8. A computer program product including a computer readable storage medium and including computer executable code which when executed by a processor is adapted to:
- establish a social graph comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of edges connecting the nodes, each of one of said nodes being associated with one of a plurality of users of an online social network, each connection between two nodes representing a relationship between the two nodes and establishing a degree of separation between the two nodes;
- create at least two user categories and group the plurality of users of the online social network into said at least two categories: 1) vendors or vendor accounts that are configured to upload video content to the online social network, wherein upon request from the vendor to upload video content, the vendor is granted access to upload said video content; and 2) consumers or consumer accounts that are configured to prevent uploading of video content to the online social network, wherein upon request by the consumer to upload video content, said consumer is denied access to upload said video content;
- determine, a price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content associated with the vendor of the online social network, the vendor being associated with a first node of the plurality of nodes of the online social network;
- receive a request from the consumer of the online social network, to purchase one of said video content associated with the vendor and hosted by the online social network, the consumer being associated with a second node of the plurality of nodes; and
- grant the consumer access to the requested video content; and automatically charge or deduct from an account of the consumer of the online social network, the determined cost of the video content accessed by consumer.
9. The computer program product of claim 8 further comprising
- create for each and every vendor of the online social network, a unique channel configured to be a uniform resource locator home address of the vendor, assigning the vendor channel exclusively to the vendor, wherein the vendor channel is configured to store all of the video content associated with the vendor; and
- creating for each and every consumer, a unique channel configured to be a uniform resource locator home address of the consumer, assigning the consumer channel exclusively to the consumer, wherein the consumer channel is a library configured to provide store access to the video content purchased from vendors.
10. The computer product code of claim 8 further comprising
- automatically determine without user intervention, the price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content items associated with the vendor of the online social network, by using an algorithm that generates a BASE (Bandwidth Storage Encoding) cost based on the cost for bandwidth, storage, and encoding of the video content.
11. The computer product code of claim 8 further comprising where cb is the cost of bandwidth per MB; and max{se1,..., se|E|} represents size (largest encoded video).
- automatically determine without user intervention, the price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content associated with the vendor of the online social network, by using an algorithm that generates a BASE (Bandwidth Storage Encoding) cost based on at least the cost for bandwidth (BA) determined according to the following equation: BA=cbmax{sel,...,se|E|}
12. The computer product code of claim 8 further comprising S = c s ( s u + Σ v ∈ E s v ) S P S where cs is the cost of monthly storage of all video content on system per megabyte; su is the size of uploaded video content from the vendor; v is a generic video variable; E is a set of all encoded video content; sv is the size of the video v; and SPS is a constant=10, the number of monthly views over which to spread monthly storage cost.
- automatically determine without user intervention, the price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content associated with the vendor of the online social network, by using an algorithm that generates a BASE (Bandwidth Storage Encoding) cost based on at least the cost for storage (S) determined according to the following equation:
13. The computer product code of claim 8 further comprising S = d u ( c e S + c h H ) S P E where du is duration of uploaded video rounded to the nearest minute; ce is the cost of standard definition encoding per min ($); |S| is the quantity of all standard definition encoded videos; ch is cost of HD encoding per min ($); |H| is quantity of all HD encoded videos; and SPE is a constant=100, the number of monthly views over which to spread one-time encoding cost.
- automatically determine without user intervention, the price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content associated with the vendor of the online social network, by using an algorithm that generates a BASE (Bandwidth Storage Encoding) cost based on at least the encoding cost (E) of the video content is determined according to the following equation:
14. The computer product code of claim 8 further comprising BASE = c b max { s e 1, … , s e E } + c s ( s u + Σ v ∈ E s v ) S P S + d u ( c e S + c h H ) S P E where ch is the cost of bandwidth per MB; max{se1,..., se|E|} represents size (largest encoded video); cs is the cost of monthly storage of all video content on system per megabyte; su is the size of uploaded video content from the vendor; v is a generic video variable; E is a set of all encoded video content; sv is size of encoded video v and SPS is a constant=10, the number of monthly views over which to spread monthly storage cost; du is duration of uploaded video rounded to the nearest minute; ce is the cost of standard definition encoding per min ($); |S| is the quantity of all standard definition encoded videos; ch is cost of HD encoding per min ($); |H| is quantity of all HD encoded videos; and SPE is a constant=100, the number of monthly views over which to spread one-time encoding cost.
- automatically determine without user intervention, the price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content items associated with the vendor of the online social network, by using an algorithm that generates a BASE (Bandwidth Storage Encoding) cost based on the cost for bandwidth, storage, and encoding of the video content according to the following equation:
15. A system including one or more processors operable to execute computer executable code to:
- establish a social graph comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of edges connecting the nodes, each of one of said nodes being associated with one of a plurality of users of an online social network, each connection between two nodes representing a relationship between the two nodes and establishing a degree of separation between the two nodes;
- create at least two user categories and classify the plurality of users of the online social network into said at least two categories: 1) vendors or vendor accounts that are configured to upload video content to the online social network, wherein upon request from the vendor to upload video content, the vendor is granted access to upload said video content; and 2) consumers or consumer accounts that are configured to prevent uploading of video content to the online social network, wherein upon request by the consumer to upload video content, said consumer is denied access to upload said video content;
- determine, a price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content associated with the vendor of the online social network, the vendor being associated with a first node of the plurality of nodes of the online social network;
- receive a request from the consumer of the online social network, to purchase one of said video content associated with the vendor and hosted by the online social network, the consumer being associated with a second node of the plurality of nodes; and
- grant the consumer access to the requested video content; and automatically charging or deducting from an account of the consumer of the online social network, the determined cost of the video content transmitted to the consumer.
16. The system of claim 15 further comprising
- create for each and every vendor of the online social network, a unique channel configured to be a uniform resource locator home address of the vendor, assigning the vendor channel exclusively to the vendor, wherein the vendor channel is configured to store all of the video content associated with the vendor; and
- create for each and every consumer, a unique channel configured to be a uniform resource locator home address of the consumer, assigning the consumer channel exclusively to the consumer, wherein the vendor channel is a library configured to store access to of the video content purchased from vendors.
17. The system of claim 15 further comprising
- determine the price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content items associated with the vendor of the online social network, by using an algorithm that generates a BASE (Bandwidth Storage Encoding) cost based on the cost for bandwidth, storage, and encoding of the video content.
18. The system of claim 15 further comprising S = c s ( s u + Σ v ∈ E s v ) S P S where cs is the cost of monthly storage of all video content on system per megabyte; su is the size of uploaded video content from the vendor; v is a generic video variable; E is a set of all encoded video content; sv is the size of video v; and SPS is a constant=10, the number of monthly views over which to spread monthly storage cost.
- automatically determine without user intervention, the price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content associated with the vendor of the online social network, sv by using an algorithm that generates a BASE (Bandwidth Storage Encoding) cost based on at least the cost for storage (S) determined according to the following equation:
19. The system of claim 15 further comprising BASE = c b max { s e 1, … , s e E } + c s ( s u + Σ v ∈ E s v ) S P S + d u ( c e S + c h H ) S P E
- automatically determine without user intervention, the price that is paid by the consumer for each of one or more video content items associated with the vendor of the online social network, by using an algorithm that generates a BASE (Bandwidth Storage Encoding) cost based on the cost for bandwidth, storage, and encoding of the video content according to the following equation:
- where ch is the cost of bandwidth per MB; max{se1,..., se|E|} represents size (largest encoded video); cs is the cost of monthly storage of all video content on system per megabyte; su is the size of uploaded video content from the vendor; v is a generic video variable; E is a set of all encoded video content; sv is size of encoded video v and SPS is a constant=10, the number of monthly views over which to spread monthly storage cost; du is duration of uploaded video rounded to the nearest minute; ce is the cost of standard definition encoding per min ($); |S| is the quantity of all standard definition encoded videos; ch is cost of HD encoding per min ($); |H| is quantity of all HD encoded videos; and SPE is a constant=100, the number of monthly views over which to spread one-time encoding cost.
20. The method of claim 1 wherein the online social network is based on a mobile network.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 5, 2014
Publication Date: Dec 10, 2015
Inventor: Nnamudi Mokwunye (Florence, AL)
Application Number: 14/297,620